Minnesota guard DeAndre Mathieu tries to split the Northwestern defense during a Feb. 1 game at Williams Arena. (Pioneer Press: John Autey)

Before DeAndre Mathieu arrived on Minnesota's campus last fall, the junior college transfer was told by first-year Gophers coach Richard Pitino that the starting point guard job was his to lose.

He never did.

"I don't know where we would be without him," Pitino said Tuesday. "I think about it a lot."

Where would Pitino and the Gophers be without Mathieu? Probably not in contention for an NCAA tournament berth. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound junior from Knoxville, Tenn., has led the team in scoring in five of its six Big Ten victories.

That includes 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting in Sunday's critical 54-48 win at Northwestern.

"I really like his game," said Big Ten Network analyst and former Northwestern player Shon Morris, who will be covering Minnesota's game Wednesday against Illinois (14-12, 3-10 Big Ten) at Williams Arena.

"I like his fearlessness to get into the lane and create. He's been a really nice addition to them," Morris said. "I think he gets overlooked because of other transfers in the Big Ten like (Illinois' Rayvonte Rice) and (Nebraska's Terran Petteway). But he's a big reason why they have a chance to get to the NCAA tournament."

Mathieu, who had scholarship offers from Memphis and UCLA out of Central Arizona Junior College last year, is averaging 11.9 points, 4.3 assists and 1.6 steals for the Gophers (17-9, 6-7).

Advertisement

Morris said he is clearly one of the top five point guards in the Big Ten.

Head to head, Mathieu has outplayed three of the best point guards in the league.

Last week, he had 16 points and held the conference's leading scorer, Indiana's Yogi Ferrell, to 14 points on 5- for-16 shooting in Minnesota's 66-60 victory. In a victory over Ohio State, Mathieu had 13 points and five assists, while Aaron Craft struggled with seven points and five turnovers. And Mathieu got 14 of his 16 points in the second half against Penn State's Tim Frazier in Minnesota's only other Big Ten road win.

"He really, late in games, makes plays for them," Illinois coach John Groce said. "He has the ability to get others shots, has the ability to get his own shot. He doesn't take a lot of threes but has shot a high percentage (48.1). He's very efficient in the two-point area for a guy his size. Defensively, he can be very disruptive. ... There's no question in watching him that he's made a very positive impact on their team."

But in the Gophers' seven Big Ten losses, Mathieu had more turnovers than assists (34-30). That includes nine turnovers at Nebraska and seven at Purdue.

Mathieu was forced to carry too much of the load when leading scorer and junior guard Andre Hollins missed two games and was limited by an ankle injury. Mathieu looked beat up himself Sunday, with a fat lip that he got while corralling a rebound at Northwestern.

Pitino isn't worried about his undersized floor general battling big men for boards, but he is concerned about the ball-control issues.

"I think that's where he runs into trouble a little bit -- over-penetrating," Pitino said. "I think when he's making good decisions offensively, he's a really good player."

Forget about catching Mathieu in transition unless you're Usain Bolt. He also has the strength and leaping ability to get most of his baskets among the trees inside. He ranks seventh in the Big Ten in field-goal percentage (50.2), but the six players ahead of him are all 6-7 or taller.

Mathieu has shot just 27 three-pointers this season, but he isn't afraid to launch it from deep. An off-balance, pull-up jumper from beyond the arc beat the halftime buzzer Sunday at Northwestern.

But Mathieu usually saves his best for last.

He scored eight straight second-half points against Penn State to sway the momentum in a win at State College, Pa. He had 10 points in the second half against Indiana. And he scored 13 second-half points in wins over Wisconsin and Northwestern.

Pitino's halftime ribbing motivates Mathieu to respond in a big way.

"We're a lot alike, really fiery and competitors," Mathieu said. "I'm just glad I came to play for him because he really gets me going, even though he shouldn't have to. He sticks with me, rides it out with me and has the ultimate confidence in me. I'm just glad to be here."